Which external camera microphone do you use for videos?

[larryh]

Hello all,

I have been struggling with a new camera and a big change in my computer in order to use it. On top of that you tube is so confusing to me in the simple sign in procedure that I ended up with another channel and deleting for a bit all my over 800 current ones under Acousticedison.. The first load from my Camera came up as under Larryhollenberg.. How that happened I haven't a clue. I have tired to fix it so far without any good answer. Fortunately I can still get it to open my group even with out signing in and I can drop and drag a file into the upload instead of going though my computer link which now goes to the wrong place. What a mess and I am as dumb as a rock when it comes to computers..

So that brings me to how to proceed with recording. I got a camera with remote recording possible. Also for setting maximum volumes. The dealer said I should use a directional microphone. A long time friend who works for a music college said he thought it should be a mic that picks up from the ambience of the room since my room is quite vibrant. After making one video with the new camera and directional mic I found that it did sound less interesting in some ways, but that might be because the old Sony camera was not adjustable and to some degree boosted the effects, sometimes too much, thus the reason for the new camera. For those of you who record to you tube with an external microphone which have you found to be the best type, one direction or multi directional. I am now leaning toward hopefully exchanging the mic for a different one.

Link to new camera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp76PjGn3yM


Now if I can only get the You Tube group mess figured out.

Larry

[larryh]

I just decided to see how the Stradella Overture part 2 I put up compared because at first I tired to record it with the directional mic but thought that the camera would pick up the room effect better but I hear that its more flat sounding compared to the Light Calvary.. It may partly be the record but the crispness of the sound is better on the directional mic. Wether that will hold true for a non directional I don't know, but I can hear the difference in sound presence for sure. I will have to do these over. If only they didn't take forever to load!

Larry

[larryh]

No wonder I get mess up, I just accidentally deleted the new version of the Stradella part 2. Part one is still in my camera and I am not going to put it up but record both sides using the directional mic. At least its better than the camera I have a feeling.

Larry

[edisonphonoworks]

Some of my videos, I will use my camera, just for the video, and record my audio using pro tools, audacity and use an M-audio USB condenser microphone, and record a very high quality sound track, it shows all the good points and bad points making a true representation. If an I phone or something like that is used the VCL and other noise cancelling components filter sound out making it sound better sometimes than it really is.

[larryh]

The Camera is a good mid price range and its ability to record the sound is most likely pretty suitable. The question being which style microphone do people find most likely to record the machine to its advantage. Not to though cover defects.

thanks

Larry

[VintageTechnologies]

I prefer directional (cardioid) condenser mikes for recording. Omnidirectional mikes will indeed pick up more ambiance of the room (and beyond), something that I try to avoid, because I want the pure original recorded sound and nothing else. Video cameras sometimes even pick up their own internal noises, such as motors and autofocus mechanisms, so external mikes are definitely the way to go.

I have experimented with mike placement, from placing the mike inside the horn to several feet back. A mike placed inside the horn is less likely to pick up unwanted sounds, such as barking dogs, trains, airplanes, refrigerators, etc.

I bought a cheap condenser microphone (iRig) for my iPhone and have had good results recording with that.

[larryh]

Thanks for your experience with recording. I have generally not recorded right up at or in the horns because the sound develops as it enlarges in the room. At least that is how I tend to hear it. Yes a multi directional mic will pick up some of the room ambience but that is how the machine sounds in the room. You know that many fine stereophonic type speakers use the wall and corners to play the sound to an advantage. I have three machines with the 250 horn size and each in different settings. The William an Mary in the videos sounds the best due to the room. I can take the same reproducer, which I usually do when testing diaphragms to ship, and find that what one hears is very dependent on the room. I can understand only wanting the precise sound at the horn or even in it, but that isn't really what you hear sitting or standing in the room is it?

Another thing that is very apparent is that the nature of recording with cameras or video devices tends to change the effect in some degree. I find that both my Sony and the new Cannon tend to bring up the volumes due to the nature of the recording process to a level a bit different from what one hears in person. Some one recently commented when I made a comparison of several diaphragms people are working on that unless you can hear it directly in the room the recordings have too many variables to reach a concrete conclusion as to how each is playing. I know that is true by listening to the play back results as the recordings tend to "level the playing field" in many ways.

I am not sure but some reviews of the mic I purchased, a Azden SMG-DSLR, say that due to its construction it picks up some of the sides as well giving it a bit more width of sound. On the other hand I read that most of the buyers are movie video makers and tend to use it for vocal recordings. I went by the dealers suggested microphone, Don't know if that was a good idea or not.

[larryh]

I recorded an opera selection from Aida yesterday with the directional mic. On many of the instrumental selections it worked fine, but on the vocals the loud parts were far too loud. Today I am going to check out the volume level against the record. When I did that selection I had already lost the way to the screen with the setting for maximum volume. What I don't quite know is if reducing that will lower the overall record sound or prevent the volume from being too loud on the high end? Experimenting is about the only way to figure it out. I could also cut the volume of the horn output with the mute which I often did on the old camera. I figured the new one with adjustable volume would compensate for full volume from the horn, and maybe it will.. If only it didn't take forever to load these HD videos!

[larryh]

I guess you never know what your going to get till you have something a while. I bought a fairly decent Cannon EOS type camera with external microphone capabilities. However the auto record function is often far too loud and adjusting the volumes to each record is not simple nor always successful without several tries. I am learning I guess. I found that the directional microphone I bought with it overplays the sound an limits the ambiance of the room compared to the internal microphones of the camera. I ordered yet another microphone, A Rode Stereo Pro which a friend of mine highly recommended. What dismays me is that the probably 15 year old Sony tiny camera I had been using, while having a terrible picture (mostly due to my inability to ever figure out the endless choices of screen settings and symbols), to my ear had made rather good overall videos of the William and Mary Console. The compared to the same records with the old Sony an the New Cannon on internal microphones I find a somewhat harsh upper end that the sony doesn't display unless the record is very loud or already recorded similarly. My hope is when the new microphone arrives the sound will be greatly improved. I suspect though it still depends on the internal recording quality that the camera has built in. The worst part so far is the extended time it takes to load every video and often I have to redo them since I am not happy with them. Its now not unusual to have to wait two hours for the video to load. Well the picture is pretty decent no matter the lighting, which certainly has it over the Sony. And my new tripod also isn't prone to shifting around when you touched it.

Keep tuned.

[larryh]

I guess you never know what your going to get till you have something a while. I bought a fairly decent Cannon EOS type camera with external microphone capabilities. However the auto record function is often far too loud and adjusting the volumes to each record is not simple nor always successful without several tries. I am learning I guess. I found that the directional microphone I bought with it overplays the sound an limits the ambiance of the room compared to the internal microphones of the camera. I ordered yet another microphone, A Rode Stereo Pro which a friend of mine highly recommended. What dismays me is that the probably 15 year old Sony tiny camera I had been using, while having a terrible picture (mostly due to my inability to ever figure out the endless choices of screen settings and symbols), to my ear had made rather good overall videos of the William and Mary Console. Compared to the same records with the old Sony an the New Cannon on internal microphones I find a somewhat harsh upper end that the sony doesn't display unless the record is very loud or already recorded similarly. My hope is when the new microphone arrives the sound will be greatly improved. I suspect though it still depends on the internal recording quality that the camera has built in. The worst part so far is the extended time it takes to load every video and often I have to redo them since I am not happy with them. Its now not unusual to have to wait two hours for the video to load. Well the picture is pretty decent no matter the lighting, which certainly has it over the Sony. And my new tripod also isn't prone to shifting around when you touched it.

Keep tuned.